Blame government for rail fare rises, says First Great Western

First Great Western spokesman Dan Panes tells ITV's Daybreak the government's
above-inflation formula is to blame for the hike in rail fare prices.

11:50AM GMT 02 Jan 2013

Mr Panes commented as the latest round of inflation-busting fare rises took effect, raising the average cost of a season ticket by 4.2 per cent compared with last year.

Some rail passengers will face bigger rises approaching six per cent because of the Government decision to allow train operators to push up the cost on some routes by more, as long as other tickets increase by less than the average.

Some travellers have seen the cost of their season tickets rise by an average of £1,300 over the past 10 years, with some fares increasing by nearly 90 per cent amid claims it was a "tax on work".

Mr Panes said the government's ticket pricing formula was to blame for shifting the burden of funding the railways onto passengers.

"While rail fare payers are paying more, taxpayers are paying less towards the cost of travel," he said.